Assignment Record– Rev. John J. Gallagher, o.s.a.

Assignment Record– Rev. John J. Gallagher, O.S.A.

Summary of Case: A priest of the Augustinian order, Gallagher was named in a 2005 lawsuit as having sexually abusing a girl at St. Mary's in Lawrence, MA between 1972 and 1978. In July 2018 the Augustinians settled with three were women who claimed Gallagher abused them as girls at St. Mary's, when they were between the ages of 9 and 12.

Ordained: 1945
Died: December 12, 2006

Start	Stop	Assignments	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1945 Baltimore-Washington archbishop was Michael Joseph Curley (1921-1947). The diocese split in 1947. Washington D.C.archbishop was Patrick Aloysius O'Boyle (1947-1973).	1948	Augustinian College	Brookland	Washington D.C.		This was the motherhouse of the Augustinian Order in the United States.
1948 Philadelphia archbishop was Dennis Joseph Dougherty (1918-1951).	1951	Augustinian Monastery	Villanova	PA
1951 Dougherty was succeeded by John Francis O'Hara, C.S.C. (1951-1960).	1953	Villanova College	Villanova	PA	Board of Student Counsellors
1953	1956	Archbishop Prendergast High School for Boys	Drexel Hill	PA	6/12, 6/19, 7/23	School had 600- 1, 610 students.
1956 New York Archbishop was Francis Joseph Spellman (1939-1967).	1965	St. Nicholas of Tolentine	New York	NY	5/8, 9/11, 9/12, 10/14, 7/18	Parish had a grade school with 503-820 boys and 715-814 girls, and a high school with 228-303 boys and 314-373 girls. The 1963 Directory indexes but does not list Gallagher in the New York archdiocesan pages as at St. Nicholas of Tolentine.
1956	1958	Sisters of St. Dominic Convent	New York	NY		This was a chapel of St. Nicholas of Tolentine in New York.
1956	1958	Christian Brothers	New York	NY
1958	1965	Our Mother of Good Counsel Convent	New York	NY
1963	1965	Convent of St. Nicholas of Tolentine	New York	NY
1965 Philadelphia archbishop was John Joseph Krol (1961-1988).	1966	Monsignor Bonner High School	Drexel	PA
1966 Miami bishop/archbishop was Coleman Francis Carroll (1958-1977).	1968	Biscayne College (Men)	Miami	FL	6/11, 5/13	College had 333-360 students.
1968 Boston archbishop was Richard James Cushing (1944-1970).	1970	Merrimack College	North Andover	MA	24/24	The 1970 Directory indexes but does not list Gallagher as at Merrimack College.
1970 Albany bishop was Edwin Bernard Broderick (1969-1976).	1971	Immaculate Conception	Hoosick Falls	NY	2/3	Parish had a grade school with 235 students, and a high school with 135 students.
1971 Boston archbishop was Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970-1983).	1979	St. Mary's	Lawrence • Gallagher was accused in a 2005 lawsuit of having sexually abused a girl at this parish between 1972-1978. • In July 2018 the Augustinians settled with three women who said Gallagher sexually abused them in the 1970s at St. Mary's when they were between 9 and 11 years old.	MA	6/7, 5/7, 6/8, 6/9	Parish had a grade school with 315-208 students, and a high school with 604-457 girls.
1971	1979	Immaculate Conception	Lawrence	MA		This was a mission of St. Mary's.
1979	1986					Gallagher is not indexed in the 1980 through 1986 Directories.
1986 Krol was replaced as Philadelphia archbishop by Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua (1987-2003), followed by Justin Francis Rigali (2003-2011).	2006	St. Thomas Monastery	Villanova	PA		Gallagher died Dec. 12, 2006

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1946-2006)

• Rev. John Joseph Gallagher, OSA, Stretch Funeral Home, December 15, 2006
• JOHN DOE Nos 30 - 68 and MARY ROE Nos 6 - 8 v Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, December 31, 2007
• Letter to Dr. Mary Jane Doherty, Chairperson of the Archdiocese of Boston Review Board, July 27, 2011
• Mass. Group Discloses New Names of Accused Priests, By Jay Lindsay, Boston Globe, July 28, 2011
• Catholic Order Pays $1m Settlement to 8 Victims of Clergy Sex Abuse Dating Back Decades, Boston Globe, July 17, 2018

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Gallagher's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on November 25, 2019.